Third Amendment violation? Police invade family's home to use during SWAT call

3 years ago

You know, the part of the U.S. Constitution that goes like this: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner.”

Well, one Henderson, Nev., family in a recent lawsuit claims that their Third Amendment rights were violated on July 10, 2011, when police officers commandeered their home and arrested two family members for “obstruction.”

“Henderson police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors,” Reason explains.

Police had gone to the 300 block of Evening Side Avenue, near Horizon Ridge Parkway and the Las Vegas Beltway, for an alleged domestic violence incident at Phillip White Jr.’s home…

White was believed to have barricaded himself and a child inside his home at 363 Evening Side.

SWAT officers closed all entrances and exits to the neighborhood. The standoff lasted hours.

Police began to call people in their homes.

When officers called on Mitchell and his family and asked if they could “occupy his home in order to gain a ‘tactical advantage’ against the occupant of the neighboring house,” he declined, saying he didn’t want to get involved.

Things turned ugly — fast.

“The officers banged forcefully on the door and loudly commanded Anthony Mitchell to open the door to his residence,” the official complaint reads. “Surprised and perturbed, plaintiff Anthony Mitchell immediately called his mother (plaintiff Linda Mitchell) on the phone, exclaiming to her that the police were beating on his front door.”

“Seconds later, officers…smashed open plaintiff Anthony Mitchell’s front door with a metal ram as plaintiff stood in his living room,” it adds. ”As plaintiff Anthony Mitchell stood in shock, the officers aimed their weapons at Anthony Mitchell and shouted obscenities at him and ordered him to lie down on the floor.”

It gets worse, according to the complaint:

Fearing for his life, plaintiff Anthony Mitchell dropped his phone and prostrated himself onto the floor of his living room, covering his face and hands.

Addressing plaintiff as “asshole”, officers, including Officer Snyder, shouted conflicting orders at Anthony Mitchell, commanding him to both shut off his phone, which was on the floor in front of his head, and simultaneously commanding him to “crawl” toward the officers.

Confused and terrified, plaintiff Anthony Mitchell remained curled on the floor of his living room, with his hands over his face, and made no movement.

Although plaintiff Anthony Mitchell was lying motionless on the ground and posed no threat, officers, including Officer David Cawthorn, then fired multiple “pepperball” rounds at plaintiff as he lay defenseless on the floor of his living room. Anthony Mitchell was struck at least three times by shots fired from close range, injuring him and causing him severe pain.

Police officers even discharged a few pepperball rounds in the direction of Mitchell’s dog before allegedly locking the family pet outside for hours in the Nevada heat without any water.